>> hello and welcome to the "journal" on dw in berlin. journalists unveil how the world's rich and powerful hide money in secret accounts. >> u.s. forces in the pacific region are on high alert as north korea steps up nuclear rhetoric again. >> turkish media fights for the right to cover a major neo-nazi trial. a group of international journalists have released a massive report that blows the lid off a system of hidden tax havens. more than 100,000 of the world's

mega rich were found to have part money in offshore accounts. >> the maybe was published in papers and on web sites around the world today. the list proves politicians, wall street traders, corporate executives, and many more. >> the cayman islands may be best known for its beaches and weather, but there's another reason some of the world's wealthiest keep coming back -- people here pay no taxes. with the help of international banks, trillions of dollars have been funneled into tax havens like this, but today's revelations could have some of the super rich quaking in their boots. league records reveal the identities of more than 130,000 people with secret accounts in places like the caymans and the british virgin islands. the documents expose a complex system of fraud and corruption. >> anyone who puts their money into a tax haven is probably trying to hide something.

why else would you spend a lot of money setting up an account unless you have something to hide? >> german journalists were part of the international investigative team that sifted through the millions of files over the past 15 months. the laundry list of suspected tax evaders includes a deceased german playboy, a russian oligarch and millionaire, as well as prominent politicians, a provincial governor and daughter of the former philippine dictator. the amount of money tucked away in offshore accounts is believed to be astronomical. according to estimates by the tax justice network, it could be as high as 25 trillion euros, enough to buy every individual in the european union a brand- new, top-of-the-line mercedes. politicians are already reacting

to the news. the greek government has announced it will investigate hundreds of offshore accounts. in germany, the finance ministry has requested access to the files. >> earlier, i spoke with the "guardian's" executive editor. he was involved with the report, and i asked him to tell us the most shocking information to come out of the investigation. >> the most shocking information, i think, is that there are so many politicians from such an extraordinary array of countries around the world who have put their secret money into british tax havens, british secrecy jurisdictions. britain, it seems, is the home of millions if not trillions of dollars of dirty money. >> what with the implications be now that this information is out there? >> i think this will cause consternation among the rich people of the planetecause they can now no longer be confident that the proses of secrecy given to th wheny

with offnk accounts will be kept. it is all aboutcy. secrecy, there is no point in them going off shore. >> this could be the most comprehensive project of its kind. how did it come about? >> through a massive leak, much bigger than that of wikileaks, which caused such a sensation. that involved about 2 gigabytes of data from the u.s. government. this involves about 200 gigabytes of data, internal files of offshore corp. mpanies. it was all collected on a single hard drive, which fell into the hands of a journalist who runs the icij in washington, which is a network of journalists who work together. we played a big role in working with him on this. >> we are talking about more

than 130,000 people. when will those names be released? >> it is very complicated to under the names. it is not like a treasure chest where you open it in the names fall out. the network journalists is continuing to work on this names, and we released new ones today. just today, we found out that the prime minister of georgette is a name we are releasing -- the prime minister of georgia. there will no doubt be more german names as well. >> thanks for joining us from london. >> for a closer look at the possible next steps in the story, we are joined by a financial expert at the tax justice network. first of all, a lot of these offshore accounts are simply using existing loopholes, so the people involved are not actually doing anything illegal, are they? >> we cannot fully say at the

moment. normally, there's also a part of this illegal hidden from the tax authorities, so i assume as she is illegal, but the exact amount will have to be discovered. >> we are talking about a lot of money. how could these loopholes be closed if at all? >> in one country, they can unilaterally try to fight tax evasion, for example, by having strong investigations and certain rules to prevent this kind of tax evasion. at the national level, they can try to cooperate with tax authorities, exchange information, and then see if there is any taxpayer in one country who has not revealed all is well to the tax authority in one country. >> we are talking billions or even trillions of euros sitting

somewhere in offshore companies or accounts at the moment. what is happening with that money? whose money is it? >> it is the money of the super rich people, even though there are some cases of middle-class people, but the bulk of this is from the really rich people and also companies, which are multinational and also huge, so it is not a normal company doing this. they use these kind of structures to hide their money. >> will the money actually remain there or will it be confiscated? if so, by whom? >> i of the tax authorities realize that there is wealth which should be revealed according to tax law, then they will, of course, tax this money. >> how will such a report and the implications that follow from it affect those tax havens themselves? for example, the cayman islands -- will it go bust now? >> it will not go bust, but will

just be a normal country. for the moment, they still have almost no taxes, not only for foreigners, but for the locals. they will be forced to behave as a normal state and tax their citizens and companies so that they can be a normal state. >> we will see about that. thank you very much for joining us. >> in other news, north korea is ratcheting up tensions again with threats against the u.s. it says its military is now cleared to launch strikes against the rival. >> washington has condemned the threat but is planning to install a missile defense system in guam, a steppingstone to north korea. there is no sign of p'yongyang backing down from. >> it is unusually quiet on the border crossing between south korean and the north korean

industrial zone. for a second day, south koreans have been told they may leave, but they cannot come back. many say the atmosphere on the other side has changed. >> things looked bleak there. i saw on north korean soldiers wearing steel helmets when i crossed the border. the workers look worried. >> north korea is now threatening to shut down the economic zone entirely of. state television says the military has been authorized to carry out a nuclear strike. experts, though, say the country is years away from developing a warhead that could be carried by a missile. the south korean defense ministry says p'yongyang has already moved in medium-range missile to its coast, but without a nuclear warhead. and despite the threats coming out of north korea, there have been no signs so far of large- scale troop movements.

still, washington is taking the situation seriously. >> some of the actions they have taken over the last few weeks present a real and clear danger and threat to the interests, certainly, of our allies, starting with south korea and japan, and also the threats that the north koreans have leveled directly at the united states. >> the u.s. has withdrawn its f- 22 fighters from south korea, but it is keeping them in the region. it also says the missile defense system it is planning to deploy in long will strengthen security in the area. >> the current tensions with north korea have been generations and decades in the making. correa has not been a united, sovereign country for more than 100 years. >> in the early 1900's, japan ruled the country as a colonial power. following world war ii, the

japanese were out and a new power dynamic took over. >> unlike many communist rulers, kim il song did not come to power in a revolution. the soviet union was instrumental in bringing him to power. moscow and beijing were key allies of p'yongyang. the u.s. and united nations lent support to seoul. six decades have passed since the war that hardened divisions on the korean peninsula. the autocratic kim died in 1994, and power seamlessly transitioned to the next generation, his son, kim jong ill. like father, like son. north korea stepped up its isolation on the world stage. defense spending shot through the roof as millions of ordinary koreans went hungry.

many died of starvation. kim jong il wanted to hold onto power at all costs. he was behind north korea's nuclear program and the country's first nuclear tests. the armed forces unconditionally backed him, in part likely because his family was awarded a key military positions. his youngest sister eventually became a general. her husband is a top government adviser and a powerful politician. kim jong il died in 2011, but the next family member was already waiting in the wings -- his oldest son, kim jong un. >> the bank of japan has announced radical measures to spur economic growth. >> it has promised to double its government bond holdings over the next two years. the steps are aimed at increasing the money supply and decreasing inflation. the news sent the nikkei stock

index soaring. elsewhere, the bank of england left its main lending rate unchanged. the european central bank in frankfurt also left its rate unchanged. the price of money is 0.75%. the hope is the low rates will encourage businesses to invest in new economic activity. >> ok, so, a lot of action there from world's central banks. let's go to the frankfurt stock exchange. there seems to have been a bit of a dramatic situation there for the dax, but overall, how is this action going down on the trading floor today? >> the fact that interest rates remain unchanged in great britain and also in the euro area has not been such a big surprise, but the words of mario druggie sounded rather pessimistic and more

pessimistic than people expected. before, he said that the economic recovery of the eurozone will take a longer time than expected, and this was something that really dragged the market's down, although there are no measures that have been announced because of cyprus and also the ecb director did not tell what he wants to do if there are similar crises like in cyprus. this all drag the market down. the dax is nearly unchanged at the moment. euro stoxx 50 also not change. prices bottomed out after wall street started in positive territory. also, the euro is recovering and stays above $1.28. >> thank you very much for bringing us up to date. >> we will be back after a short break with the latest on a controversial neo-nazi child to be under way shortly in munich. >> we also have some champions

league soccer action for you. do not go away. >> stay with us.

>> welcome back. the controversy surrounding it upcoming the enough to trial in munich continues to grow. the only survivor of a right- wing gang accused of killing nine immigrants will stand trial. most of the victims were turkish. >> yet, turkish media were denied accreditation to cover the case. the court said all the spots were filled, but the turkish government is demanding that munich officials rethink their policies. a newspaper in turkey is suing for access to the court room. >> turkish newspapers are unwilling to accept that they have been shut out of the court room and are now planning to appeal to germany's highest court. eight of the victims were of turkish origin.

that is why they believe they have the -- that is what the turkish government believes they have the right to present at the trial. >> what is happening is being followed closely in turkey. it does not look good. first, because it excluded the ambassador and now turkish media. that is hard to explain. our readers expect us to be present and to report the story. >> but the court says it allocated the 50 seats reserved for the press fairly, on a first-come, first-served basis. for the trial of the main defendant, the court says the turkish media applied too late. turkey's ambassador called for the court to show more understanding for the problem. >> this matter needs to be handled with a little more sensitivity. after all, eight turkish residents of germany were murdered, and it is completely natural that the turkish press is interested and want to follow

this story. >> it is still unclear if germany's constitutional court will consider the petition, but whatever the judges decide, some politicians fear the handling of the case is already an embarrassment for the country. >> for more, we are joined by our correspondent at our parliamentary studios in berlin. for the court, it seems like a clear case of first-come, first- served, but is there more to it than that? >> the chief justice of the bavarian high court keeps repeating that this is a completely normal trial, as he calls it. no doubt he means that in the sense of guaranteeing judicial impartiality. the problem is he -- it is being interpreted as meaning he wants the trial to have a little special attention, and that is not possible. there is parallel to the trial a parliamentary investigation into the failures of the police and security services over 10 years to link these murders to

recognize a political motive, and there are even allegations of a police cover-up. >> are there any chances now for a turkish journalist to attend this trial? >> i think there's quite a good chance, either for the munich court to revise its decision or for it to be forced to do so by the german constitutional court. as i say, this is not just a run-of-the-mill murder case. this is a very specific one in which the german security services and police have been accused of serious errors and perhaps even worse. so transparency is of the utmost importance. it has been promised by the german president, and i think it now is definitely up to the court to provide that transparency. it will be under pressure to do so. >> thanks for joining us. it has been two years since tunisian overthrew their government, and the country has been experiencing growing pains ever since. >> the fledgling democracy has

been plagued by unrest, political turmoil, economic woes, not to mention social upheaval. islamist groups hold the majority in parliament and repeatedly clashed with a growing secular movement. >> when young activists took the conflict into her own hands when she posted topless pictures of herself with political messages written across her chest. it has touched off a major debate. >> this is the picture causing the controversy. a 19-rural woman posted pictures of herself online last month. the message written across her chest says, "my body belongs to me and is not the source of anyone's honor." her naked chest use as a poster to promote women's rights. the picture has gone by law on the internet and sparked a debate around the world. it has become a talking point throughout tunisia. reactions there are mixed. >> i do not consider this kind of protest appropriate.

got entrusted her with that body. she must protect it. if she wants to voice her opinion, there are other ways to do so. >> some people write an article. others take to facebook. she chose this method of making her voice heard. she use her body to express her opinion. i do not know what her life is like. maybe she had no other choice, so she decided to do it in this way. what is the big deal? >> in recent months, a tunisian has seen an increase in the number of assaults against women. human rights activists are concerned, and women's groups have come out in support. >> personally, i probably would not have done it this way, but i do understand this kind of radical protest. she wanted to shock the public to draw attention to the increasing violence against women, so even if this is an unusual way of doing it, nothing is more important than the right to express yourself.

>> this radical islamists could not disagree more. speaking on national television this month, he defended his fatwa, calling for her to be stoned to death. he refused our request for an interview. but not alternation clerics are as extreme. >> in this case, stoning is not the answer. the current teaches us that god will punish the unchaste in this life and in the afterlife -- the koran teaches. as humans, we cannot simply interfere with god's will and issue fatwas as we see fit. >> she last appeared on tv three weeks ago with her face board. in the meantime, more than 100,000 people have voiced their support on line. they have signed a petition demanding that the tunisian government protect her life and liberty.

>> we will have all the latest champions league action for you in a moment. >> first, a look at some other stories making news around the world. >> thousands of mourners have turned out in the west bank. the incident led to clashes between palestinians and israeli soldiers, which have continued for a second day. >> u.s. president barack obama has urged congress to tighten legislation on gun control. he made the call while on a visit to colorado. the state passed tougher gun laws on wednesday after a spate of mass shootings. >> french president francois hollande has addressed in the moroccan parliament, praising the exceptional friendship between the two countries. his visit to the former french colony has been overshadowed by a tax fraud scandal in france. wednesday was the second night of quarterfinals action, and this time, dortmund faced off

against the league's big surprise. >> it was built to be a tough match, and it ended in stalemate. >> dortmund could have and should have achieved more than a drop out of this game. the ball in front of their goal twice in the first 20 minutes, but could not get it through. they had opportunities as well, the best one just before halftime. in the second half, dortmund stayed on the offensive to no avail. in the final minutes, the dortmund keeper had to struggle to keep the score at 0-0. >> it is a kind of half time now in this court of final. we know more about our opponent and our opponent knows more about us. we played in the stadium in what i thought was a fantastic atmosphere. we played the foundation,

nothing more, nothing less. >> the return takes place next tuesday, when dortmund will have more than 60,000 fans to cheer them on as they try to book their place in the semifinals. >> in the second match of the evening, they lived up to the favorites. >> spaniards trounced them 3-0. >> this means they are well- placed to move into the semifinals next week. >> it has puzzled world scientists for years. dark matter is thought to make up about a quarter of our universe, but its presence has never actually been confirmed. >> until now -- maybe. a team of researchers said they have detected signals that could be caused by dark matter. it is not much to go and yet, but it is a victory for scientists trying to solve one of the biggest challenges in physics. >> astrophysicists sometimes

referred to dark matter as the sculpture of the universe. they say the universe would fall apart without this mysterious and elusive material. its gravity keeps the relatively light weight stars on course, but you cannot see dark matter, and no one has so far proven its existence. for the last three years, the international space station has employed a state of the i detector to track down dark matter. scientists now appear to have the first physical trace. an international team that includes a nobel laureate has found a large amount of positron particles on the iss. they could come from dark matter. >> we have to examine if the positrons could have come from somewhere else. that will still take some time. in a year or two, we will know more. >> but a few years is nothing compared to what this might mean

for science as a whole. researchers in geneva are continuing their work, and the same goes for labs deep beneath the earth's surface, where cosmic rays no longer interfere. they say that if that actually succeed in identifying dark matter, it will be like discovering a new continent, but one that was there all along. >> i hope will live to see that day. >> i hope so. that would be very interesting. >> that is all for now. >> thank you. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--